


Broken Similarities

by Xycuro



Series: Fratt Week #1 [1]
Category: Marvel, Spider-Gwen (Comics)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Earth-65, Foe Yay, M/M, One Shot, Weird flirting, earth 65 Vulture and Kraven are mentioned once here, main villains
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:08:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22320820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xycuro/pseuds/Xycuro
Summary: You know what they say:The Devil can sneak up on you when you least expect it.
Relationships: Frank Castle/Matt Murdock
Series: Fratt Week #1 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1606588
Comments: 13
Kudos: 50
Collections: Fratt Week





	Broken Similarities

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, we starting off frattweek2020 with the earth 65 versions of our favorite disasters. These two are awful but fun to write.
> 
> Day 1: Weapons

  
  
"You know, smoking is bad for your lungs."  
  


Damn it. It was supposed to be a peaceful night on the rooftops.

Frank usually came up here every so often as a way to escape his responsibilities and have a break for once, whether it's a lunch break or a smoke break. Typically, it's a smoke break, but it seems as though he can't have any of those just yet.

While the streets were the ones that helped filled the air with the sounds of the city, the chilled voice of a certain lawyer came in and ruined it all.  
  
  
"What the hell do you want?"

Frank turned his head to face him. He sees the face that only held the dark red shades with a sly smile that greeted him. The red suit that held pigments that screamed for attention and clashed with his red hair caught his eye of course, but the way Matt Murdock casually twirled his cane was hypnotizing.

"What? Can't I have a little chat with my _favorite_ detective?"

The cane immediately stopped twirling, now tapping against the ground in a beat. Murdock didn't move from his spot, only standing there, stark against the low city lights.  
  


Frank can't stand this man.  
  


"We're not friends, Murdock," he grunted, dropping the cigarette and butting it out with his shoe. "I don't need you coming over here telling me shit, nor do I want to talk to the likes of _you_."

" _Ouch_ , harsh," Murdock clicked his tongue. "And here I thought I could spend this lovely night having a lively conversation with The Punisher. But you're not very sociable, aren't you?" Frank can already hear the sneering in his tone.

"I don't go by Punisher anymore," Not since the War Machine days. "But you already knew that, huh?"

Murdock grinned, only to reveal white teeth at him. "Oh, I know _many_ things, Detective Castle. Information that can be useful to anyone I meet. Especially for you."  
  


What was this man's game _now_?  
  


"I think I'll pass. I rather eat shit with the scum on the street than listen to whatever the hell you have to say."

"How rude; here I am offering you intel on _anything_ here and beyond the streets of New York and you turn it down with an insult," The lawyer doesn't even sound upset. The more Murdock spoke, the more he sounded like he was enjoying himself. It was mocking Frank's ears to no end. "I _was_ going to give you information on Spider-Woman - or _Ghost Spider -_ as she calls herself now, but from how you put it, you don't want my help."

"Help? Is that what you think you're doing? You're trying to _help_ me?"

"I did tell you to put out that cigarette, didn’t I? Now you won’t lose any more years of your lifespan than you already have. You're welcome, by the way."  
  


God he _really_ cannot stand this man.  
  


Frank stalked over towards him, hands already balling into fists. The nerve of this corrupt bastard. "I don't need your damn help; I have all I need on Ghost Spider without your intel."

"From sources that can put you at risk? Not to mention that those _'sources'_ could be lying."

"How would you know they'd be lying?"

"Oh, because I know many things, dear Castle," And the Devil grinned again. "Have you forgotten that? I can hear what most people can't."

Frank scoffed. "And so I should trust you instead?" He then starts to laugh. Murdock was probably crazier than him to even think about that. "I know who you really are, Murdock. What you do, what you've done, and what kind of strings you pull behind the curtains. Why would I ever trust you?"

"Because you and I are the same, after all."  
  


 _What_.  
  


It wasn't an insult, but from the way Murdock poised himself so smoothly into saying that made Frank's blood boil. He only got closer, still itching for a fight.

"We are _nothing_ alike."

" _Nothing_? Castle, we're more alike than you could ever imagine," Murdock was still toying with him. "The same drive and motivations. We're both after the same thing: Same criminals. Same tasks. Same _spider_. We were made to be like this." The madman lawyer was circling him, ignoring the waves of anger that emitted from the detective. He even went as far as trickling his hand on Frank's shoulder to imitate a spider when he mentioned Ghost Spider.

Everything felt like a hallucination just waiting to transform itself into a nightmare.  
  


A hand grabbed at his shoulder unexpectedly, making Frank mentally cursing himself for not suspecting any movement before. He could feel that corrosive smile closing in. "We're two sides of the same scarred coin. Rusted with what we learned and what we became out of it."

Frank growled and threw a fist at the lawyer's direction, missing by an inch as Murdock immediately moved out of the way. He slithered his way back to facing Frank, still enjoying himself. It only enraged the detective more as he felt like a bull seething at the color red. Murdock was nothing but a bloodstain against the shadows. He stood out against the city lights and the night sky only basks him in a tone that would make anyone be able to see in the dark. A few of his punches were blocked easily, his kicks served no purpose. Frank got impatient, reaching to his holster to pull out his pistol. That instant, he wasn't fast enough to pay any attention to Murdock's cane, which was now a blade that was pressing against his throat. Murdock had caught him in a trap, and a quick reflex snapped at Frank's wrist, forcing him to drop the gun.  
  


"Ah ah ah, Castle, let's be _fair_ here," Now he was taunting. Damn this man, _damn him_. "We don't need to make this dirty, now do we? Why not have a good ol' fight with our hands? Get the testosterone flowing _without_ the weapons and the noise of firearms," Murdock swiftly kicked at the pistol before Frank could have a chance of grabbing it again. It slid off to a far corner of the rooftop, now sitting there to watch the brawl.

 _"Fuck you."_ Frank snarled.

"Tempting, but not on the first date, sweetheart," Murdock replied in a sugary tone, moving the sword out of the way only to shove Frank in the opposite direction. "I can still smell the cigarette on your tongue."  
  


Frank stumbled back on his feet, still feeling the blade on his throat as if it left an imprint. He rubbed at his neck briefly before charging at Murdock again. He didn't want to listen to another word he had to say, but the damn lawyer can't stop talking.

"How is it that Fisk can hold his temper better than you?" Murdock asked, dodging each fist as he puts his cane away. Frank questions on how a blind man can avoid his attacks with ease, but then again, the warnings of ‘ _The Devil hears everything’_ from Vulture still echoes in his head.

"Maybe your client is just itching to beat the shit out of you quietly," Frank lands a blow along Murdock's shoulder, making him hiss. He smirks at that response. "Probably wants to punch that smile off your face every time he thinks about it."

After Murdock regained his balance, he adjusted his glasses. "That's starting to sound more like _you_ than my client. Tell me, Castle, do you think about me that often?"

"Every time I think about you, I have to restrain myself from hurling."

"Aww, so you _do_ think about me," Murdock purred, his lips twitching upwards. "How _sweet_."

The lawyer then lowers himself to swipe at Frank's ankle with his shoe, knocking off his balance completely. Frank couldn't register that happening and took the fall, only for Murdock to pin him down.

"And yet you preach to the heavens that you and I are nothing alike. Trust me, Detective, I may be the only person in this city that truly understands you."

"You don't know shit about me!" Frank roared, shoving Murdock off of him to bare him down. He tries throwing a punch but Murdock caught his fist like nothing, pushing it back while he grinned wildly. His fancy composure was starting to break down into something crueler.

"I know more about you than any other officer that's ever worked with you!" Murdock laughed wickedly, unable to stop himself. "The big bad Punisher of Stark's War Machine, who’s killed with no remorse. An unstoppable force. The man with the estranged ex-wife who refused to look him in the eyes and children who can barely remember what their own father looks like!"

More shoving, more punches and kicks went through against each other. Frank tried spitting blood at Murdock's face, but he missed again and Murdock only sneered at him even more.

"You were made to be a living weapon! Stripped of your humanity so that you can serve a better purpose!" Murdock grabbed Frank by the neck to force him down against the ground again. He wasn't strangling him, no, he wants Frank to _listen_. "Who else would know that other than your pal Kravinoff? Would you even consider him an ally after everything that's happened?"

"Shut the hell up! You don't know! You don't get it!" Frank struggled in Murdock's grasp, doing everything he can to get him off.

It only made Murdock tighten his grip just slightly.  
  


"Of course I get it, Castle. That's something you refuse to accept. You claim you know me, you understand who I am. From your heartbeat, you told the truth because you _know_ it's the truth. I was turned into a weapon, _just like you_ , and it angers you to no end."  
  


 _Stop it_ , Frank's mind screamed. _You're not me. I'm not you.  
  
_

The detective managed to get a shove at one end, using his weight to his advantage to push Murdock off again. He throws himself to pin the lawyer down, this time snatching him by the tie and dragging him over towards the edge of the building. The tables were turned with Frank's hands grabbing Murdock's neck, keeping his head over the edge to hear the barrage of the city. His red shades had fallen off earlier and Murdock's face was exposed for him to see.  
  


"I'm not you. I'm _nothing_ like you," Frank growled, panting slightly from fighting as he glares into the cold, blue eyes that stared back at nothing. "You spit a few facts at me and that's all it takes to read me? You may know me, but you don't really understand."

" _Don't I?_ " Murdock laughed again, looking more sinister than before despite the circumstances. "You're so delusional, Castle, it's almost _adorable_ at how pathetic you are when you try to hide. You think that I would waste my time with someone I didn't truly understand? Who do you take me for?"

"A lunatic? A Sociopath? A corrupt bastard that likes to dig deep into the crap that doesn't belong to him?"

Murdock grinned again, his blood staining his teeth to make them crimson. Just another addition to his palette. "Fair, but that all sounds a lot like you too. Don't you see that? You understand _you get it_. That's what I've been trying to do. I want you to see that you can understand," he pauses for a moment, scoffing to himself. "That was something Ghost Spider couldn't put together. I did everything I could to open her eyes and make her realize our similarities. But she's young and naïve… unlike you. We were raised to be living weapons. Emotionless. Precise. Efficient. Disposable..."  
  


Frank heaved a bit, feeling his sides ache while blood trickled down from his temple. He hated to admit it, but Murdock had a point one way or another. As he thought about it more and more, they had similarities. They were alike in some way.

It still didn't mean that they should understand each other further.  
  


"Sure Murdock, we're both sick and fucked up from what we've become..." Frank leaned closer, now making sure Murdock heard _him_ loud and clear. "... But that doesn't mean anything for the two of us. You weren't cut from the same cloth I was and neither was I with you. You're on one side and I'm on the other, it doesn't make us the same."

He moved the lawyer away from the edge and shoved him back onto the floor where his glasses were. Murdock doesn't make any noise other than clearing his throat and ended it with a sigh. He used his cane as leverage, helping him balance himself after he picks up his discarded glasses.

Just like that, Murdock shifted himself back to being a regular attorney, adjusting his tie, and runs a hand through his hair. He faced Frank again, who was still kneeling near the edge.

"You're more stubborn than I thought... how fun," Frank couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not. "Despite that, I'm not backing down so easily, Castle."

Frank got up from his spot, readying himself again.

"No, we're done with that. I rather we have another fair fight when our wounds are healed," Murdock produced a handkerchief out of his pocket, wiping away a few cuts before he gets another one and tosses it towards Frank. "My father used to say _'Murdocks never quit'_ to describe our refusal to lose. I used to think he meant physically, but in reality, it was meant for our spirit." He began to walk away, heading over towards the fire escape. Frank wanted to keep fighting, at least, keep yelling at the lawyer for his nonsense, but he refused to move.

Murdock turned around to face him again.

"I have a tenacious spirit, Castle. You don't seem to understand now, but later on, I'll make sure you do. Just remember that you're not alone."

It was meant to be encouraging, but it only came out as cryptic and unsettling when Murdock spoke.  
  


Just like that, Murdock made his exit and disappeared. Frank got up from his spot and rushed over to try and catch the man climbing down the steps, only to find nothing in return. He truly disappeared.

Frank slammed a fist against the edge of the concrete, muttering to himself about everything while his knuckles ached. He walked back to the handkerchief left for him and shoved it in his pocket. He doesn't need his help nor does he need his final say.  
  
  


No matter what happened, they're still on different sides.  
  
  


Frank will not hesitate to prove that again next time. 

  
  



End file.
